


just one mistake

by PoeticNepeta



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: 8th bird angus, Canon Temporary Character Death, Canon-Typical Violence, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Swearing, Trans Character, more like characters most of them are trans prob, no one is straight, or neurotypical
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-22
Updated: 2018-09-22
Packaged: 2019-07-15 13:56:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16064534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PoeticNepeta/pseuds/PoeticNepeta
Summary: Angus ends up on the Starblaster with the rest of the Birds. Some things are different, others are the same





	just one mistake

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic in ages so yeah. Thanks to my brother for betaing for me and for the TFW discord for providing support and all. Also I'm ignoring DnD lore on how elves age in order to make this fic work.

Angus felt his heart beating a mile a minute as he walked through the campus of the IPRE. He tried to act casual, like he had every right to be here, but no one was around to see him at this late hour anyway.

He did have every right to be here, but that wasn't true for where he was planning to go. He flapped his hands a little, his long elf ears pricked forward in excitement as he headed towards the launch site, towards the Starblaster that would be taking off tomorrow. He was fascinated by the bond engine but no one had allowed him a close look, so he decided to take matters into his own hands. He would sneak inside, take a nice look around, then be out and off to bed before anyone knew differently.

Angus sent a brief grateful thought towards Taako and Lup, without whom he'd never have gotten this chance. Homeless elf boys weren't very common in one of the most advanced research facilities in the entire plane, but he had met the twins while trying to find some sort of work to get some coin. They had taken one look at his skinny frame and worn clothes and, in their own way, decided to help him out.

That helping usually involved a lot of nicknames and some goofs that ranged from funny to actually freaking him out, but it also involved them cooking him some amazing food, along with tips and tricks that, while the fact was never stated outright, would help him survive better on the streets. Sometimes they would give him gifts of little things, once even a new pair of shoes. When he tried to be sincere to thank them, they never accepted it, always brushing off and deflecting (although Lup was a little more accepting of the thanks than Taako). He got the sense Taako was the main drive behind the twins' help, and this was basically confirmed when one day, Taako gave him a wand and said they'd be starting magic lessons.

The lessons were really what got him onto the IPRE campus. He had started out very nervous, leaving as soon as his lessons were done, not wanting to be a nuisance. He had met people, though, smart people who saw his intellect and his curiosity. By now he was pretty sure a lot of the IPRE thought of him as some sort of mascot, and he was at least tolerated in most places on campus. He often was allowed to do simple tasks to help with an experiment, and some people would talk to him about what they were researching, helping him learn about planar science. He got a reputation for being good at solving mysteries too, though it was usually something like "Who's been eating my lunch?" (Even though, whenever he managed to solve a mystery, no matter how small, he felt warm inside). Most everyone was friendly towards him, which was what made him feel confident enough to at least try to sneak onto the Starblaster. He wanted to see the bond engine up close. He had a notebook in his little messenger bag and wanted to take notes, to help his own understanding. Knowledge was one of a detective's most useful tools, or at least that was what Caleb Cleveland said. He could look at blueprints and read papers, but learning how to observe things himself was a useful skill too. So he was going to try to get some more knowledge, and if he got caught he was pretty sure he wouldn't get into  _ too _ much trouble. He was just a kid after all.

He could also do a check on how well constructed the ship was. Which definitely had nothing to do with any concern for the safety of the twins and the rest of the crew (though the only one he had significantly interacted with was Lucretia), or worry about them leaving. When he heard Lup in the press conference call this world a stink-planet it made his stomach twist, and when he managed to sleep he had dreams of disasters happening to the ship, or of the two coming back and no longer bothering with him after their cool space adventure, but it was fine. They were grown elves who could look after themselves, and he would be okay if they stopped helping him. Other adults had taken pity on him and helped him out, but they all eventually either grew too controlling or lost interest. This was the longest lasting friendship (mentorship? he wasn't sure what to call it) he'd had, but it would be fine. He was smart and other people at the IPRE liked him so he could probably still hang around the scientists. Maybe even get a job one day. And it was only two months which wasn't that long when you thought about it especially for elves so he was fine. He just had a scientific interest here. Just that.

Angus took deep breaths as he pushed away his uncomfortable thoughts. He checked the big clock tower on campus as he leaned against a wall far enough away from the Starblaster to avoid suspicion. It was nearly time for the guards to change watch. A few minutes later, he saw the half-orc who was guarding just then take off as her relief was approaching. He fast-walked up to the ship, rolled a natural twenty on his stealth check, and climbed up the ramp to the deck before crouching down low enough that he was below the railing. He grinned widely, crouch-walking towards the back and the shimmering ring that would power it tomorrow. He felt his breath quicken as he examined it, and cast a quick and quiet Detect Magic and Identify, although neither spell told him all that much. He sketched out the bond engine in his notebook, his ears twitching at every sound. He also checked out the bridge, before slipping down to below the deck to check out the rest of the ship.

As he was looking around, heard heard footsteps from above, and someone else's voice. His heart jumped into his throat as he quickly looked for a place to hid. He was in one of the bunks, and this one had a large wardrobe. He opened it up and hopped inside, quickly closing himself in and turning the brightly colored clothes (which he was pretty sure belonged to Taako) to shades of gray as his darkvision activated.

His heart was beating so loud he was worried whoever had come down here would hear it. He kept reminding himself that he probably wouldn't get in too much trouble, people here liked him too much, but  _ probably _ wasn't very reassuring. What if they turned him over to the guard? What if they never let him come back to the campus? He wouldn't even get to tell Lup and Taako goodbye before the mission.

He spiraled in panic, tears brimming in his eyes before rolling down his cheeks as he waited to be found. but eventually he calmed down enough to figure out what was happening. Whoever was out there must have been a janitor based off of the sounds he could hear, doing a last clean of the Starblaster before the launch. He had already been through this bunk, so he probably wouldn't come back to check in the closet, right?

So Angus just had to wait for the janitor to leave. He settled down to get comfortable, tugging down a robe to cushion him against the shoes on the bottom, and began to wait.

But he was tired. He hadn’t slept in the past week, trying to be helpful with all the last minute preparations, and had barely meditated either. And crying always tired him out. He tried to stay awake, he really did, but eventually he fell asleep, his glasses skewed on his face as his cheek pressed into the wood of the cabinet.

 

 

* * *

 

 

It’s the next day now, and we see the crew of the Starblaster, surrounded by a nervous but excited crowd, underneath an unsettlingly stormy sky. The seven wave now, before heading onto the ship, to their stations to do one quick final check of the readings on the bond engine. It had been more active this morning during the more extensive checks, but Barry had suggested it might be due to the extra bonding the crew had done the night before at the bar. Captain Davenport ruled that it was fine, so they had gone on as usual.

If any of the checks had involved going through the bunks, maybe things would have been different. Maybe Angus would have woken up, or Taako would have found him in his closet. But the checks focus on the technical aspect, and no one expected a stowaway, even an unintentional one. So after a few minutes to make sure everything is fine, Davenport enters the bridge and the rest of the crew go on deck to wave goodbye to the crowd. The Starblaster takes off, with an eighth unexpected passenger.

The crew stands in silence as they headed up and up and out, every one of them awed, at least a little. But when the bond engine kicks on and they leave the Prime Material Plane, when they see what they would come to call the Hunger, Taako breaks the silence

“What the FUCK is that?”

As panicked chatter overlaps, as Davenport tries and fails to contact the Institute, we see inside Taako’s closet once more. Taako’s outburst had startled Angus awake, and he looks around in confusion and panic, ears twitching as he tries to listen to the voices above him. He hears the captain call “Communications are out! I’m making the call, we can’t go back right now. We’ll escape and regroup and we’ll come back when things are safer!”

He hears a gruff voice argue back, though he can’t make out the words, and Davenport cut him off with “THAT’S AN ORDER!”

Angus is panicking now. He can feel the movement of the ship and he knows something is clearly going wrong, though he has no idea what. He clutches himself, paralyzed except for when the ship’s evasive maneuvers throw him against the sides of the closet. He doesn’t know what to do, what he should do, but decides that whatever is going, the crew needs to focus. He can fess up after, take whatever punishment he’s given. It’s his own fault for falling asleep, after all. He had meant to get off the ship last night.

The ship gets past the Hunger, out to the edge of the planar system. On the deck we see the crew watch as their home and the black mass attacking it shrinks into the distance. Below we see Angus try to calm himself down, blinking back tears and rubbing the nice fabric of his shirt. He kind of wants to chew on the collar of it, something he hasn’t done in years, but he manages to stop himself. He tries to figure out what’s happening but he doesn’t have enough clues and his panic isn’t helping.

We see tears on Angus’s face, and we see worry and anxiety on the faces of the crew. We see space start to turn… wobbly, and then time stops. Projections of all eight people on the ship fly outward from them, frozen in place on the deck. Seven see these projections as they are torn apart but one only feels being torn apart, with even less idea of what is happening than the rest.

When the eight are unstuck, Angus can’t keep himself from crying out “Fuck!” although it was far louder than he intended. He was overwhelmed and confused and scared.

On the deck, six people hear a muffled yell from below (Davenport is too busy steering and recovering from being frozen). Emotions flash through different faces, curiosity and confusion about what just happened, confusion and worry about the sound they just heard, worry and relief to see the twelve planes without the strange black thirteenth one. Then, several people start talking at once.

“That was remarkable, I need to run some tests to figure out what just-”

“That sounded like a person, I’m gonna-”

“This got weird way faster than-”

Barry, Magnus and Taako all look at each other, expressions ranging from annoyed to embarrassed at the cross talk. Finally Magnus says “I’m gonna go check what that noise was,” and grabs his ax.

The others wander, checking readings on the bond engine or just looking at the approaching system.

Meanwhile, Angus hears steps coming down to the bunks and tenses even more than before. He knows it would be better to confess and come out but he can’t get himself to move, even as the steps grow closer. He just keeps hugging himself as he looks at nothing. He hears a rough voice call out “I know something’s down here!”

That is enough to break through his paralysis. He pushes open the doors of the closet to see a large human man (Magnus, he was pretty sure, the security officer), framed in the doorway, clutching his ax. He lowers it, eyes boggling at Angus as the boy begins to babble and climb out of the closet. “I’m sorry, sir, I didn’t mean to be here during the launch! I just wanted to fucking- I just wanted to get a closer look at the ship last night but I fell asleep in here and when I woke up the ship had already left! I’m sorry!”

Magnus stares at the boy for a long moment, no longer in a fighting position, his ax arm limp at his side, before turning his head to call out. “Taako! There’s a kid in your closet!”

Muffled through the wood of the deck came Taako’s voice. “What the fuck?!”

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Check out my tumblr at angusprotectionsquad!


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